Char-Koosta News

The Official Publication of the
Flathead Nation online

For the Record
May 2010

Margaret
M. Posivio
RONAN — Margaret M. Posivio, 87, a longtime resident of St.
Ignatius passed away peacefully in her sleep, May 23, 2010, at her
son's home in Ronan.

Margaret was born on April 25, 1923 to Mathew and
Magdalen
Tschida in St. Paul MN; she joined an older sister, Louise. Margaret
graduated from St. Agnes School in St. Paul, MN and began working for
the telephone company. She met Donald R. Posivio on a blind date set up
by Donald's cousin, Kathleen Melde.

Margaret and Donald R. Posivio were married on
June 20, 1945 in
St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1948, Donald moved Margaret and their two sons,
Don and Bill, from St. Paul to Don's home town of St. Ignatius, where
their son, Gene and daughter, Mary Ann were born.

Margaret enjoyed gardening and canning fresh
vegetables from
her garden. She also loved to sew and showed her talent by making
dresses for her granddaughters and shirts for her grandsons.

Funeral services were held Friday, May 28 at the
St.
Ignatius Catholic Church and Father Drew Maddock officiated. Burial
took place in the Posivio/Johnson Family plot in the St. Ignatius
Catholic Cemetery under the direction of the Foster Funeral Home.

David
"Chub" Pierre
ARLEE — David "Chub" Pierre, 71, passed away May 27, 2010 at St.
Patrick Hospital in Missoula.

Dave was born in St. Ignatius on March 25, 1939 to
Pierre "Pete"
Pierre and Mary Moss Pierre. He was educated in Arlee where he became a
lifelong resident.

Dave married Catherine Cobb in 1959. He was a
journeyman
painter with B&L for many years. He then worked in the woods up
until five years ago.

Dave loved to cook and have picnics anytime of the
year; family
and friends looked forward to these events. It wasn't a dinner; it was
a fire, hot dogs and hamburgers in the woods. If there wasn't a utensil
to cook with or frying pan he made one! He had true "Injunuity". It has
been said, he could sell ice cubes to Eskimos and donkeys to Democrats.

He was an avid flower and vegetable gardener and
enjoyed
sharing the fruits of his labor with family and friends. Life did not
pass him by! If it wasn't a ride in the woods, it was a weekend in
Spokane to see his great-granddaughter and family.

He loved the woods and knew them all like the back
of his hand,
from the Northwest to the Bitterroot Wilderness. Horse racing was a
passion that took him to watch the race meets throughout the Northwest
and Special events at the Coeur d'Alene Casino. He loved to meet people
and let you know how he felt, without mincing words. His personality
was infectious; humor and generosity was his trademark. If you did not
have a nickname when you met him you had one when you left.

He will be sorely missed by family and friends and
our hearts
will be empty without our stronghold, but we are comforted by knowing
he is without pain and suffering and that he is now at peace.

Edna
Wheeler
ST. IGNATIUS — Edna Marie Cote Wheeler, 99, of St. Ignatius passed
away at her home in St. Ignatius on Monday, May 24, 2010 surrounded by
her loving family.

Edna was born on October 15, 1910 in Pincher
Creek, Alberta,
Canada a daughter of Anna Marie and Jean Baptiste Cote. The Cote family
moved from Canada on January 15, 1915 and established their permanent
home in St. Ignatius. The family homesteaded near Edna's present home
above the canal on Mission Creek Road.

She attended the Ursaline School in St. Ignatius
and graduated
in 1928. Edna then married Tom Wheeler on September 5, 1928 with a
ceremony performed by Father Taelman at the St. Ignatius Catholic
Church. She worked alongside Tom in his logging and sawmill business
and raised seven children.

Edna was a member of the now disbanded Women's
Club, held
several offices in the Catholic Guild throughout the years, was the
president of the American Legion Auxiliary, and was a member of the
Foothill Club for 73 years. She was a dedicated and supportive member
of the Catholic Church. Her stewardship included raising flowers for
the altar, teach religious education classes, assisting with CVC
events, founded the Ladies Guild along with Mary Michel, and assisted
in fund drives for the church. Edna also worked for several physicians
who practiced in St. Ignatius.

Besides her parents, Edna is preceded in death by
her husband,
Tom Wheeler; daughter June Marie Orr; brothers William (Bill), Leonard,
and Ben; sisters Emily, Hazel, and DoraMae; grandchild Dustin; and
great-grandchildren Eric, Cote, Devan, and Micah.

Those left with cherished memories are her
daughters Jeannine
Wheeler (J.C.) of Fairbanks, AK, Maryann Weingart (Bob) of St.
Ignatius, and Connie Sutten (Galen) of Fairbanks, AK; sons Tom Wheeler
of Arlee, John Wheeler (Jane) of Kodiak, AK, and Dennis Wheeler (Gaye)
of St. Ignatius; and sisters Jean Bosley and Lyla Smith. Edna also
leaves behind 34 grandchildren, 84 great-grandchildren, and 26
great-great grandchildren.

A Rosary service was held on Friday, May 28 at the
St. Ignatius
Catholic Church; mass to follow on Saturday. Burial followed at the St.
Ignatius Catholic Cemetery.

Memorials in Edna's loving memory can be made to
either the St.
Ignatius Catholic Church's restoration fund or to the Shodair
Children's Hospital, 2755 Colonial Drive, Helena 59601, or by visiting
www.shodair.org. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family
online at www.groganfuneralhome.com. The staff of Grogan Funeral Home
and Crematory, Polson, considers it a privilege to care for Mrs.
Wheeler's family.

Sheila
Rae Hadley
ST. IGNATIUS — Sheila Rae Hadley, 51, passed away Sunday, May 23, 2010
at her home after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis.

Born in St. Ignatius to Delores (Cordis) and Boyd
Hayes, she was
raised in East Missoula and attended school at Hellgate. Following
school she went to work in the kitchen at Hillside Manor for several
years before she married Rodney Hadley. After her marriage she worked
at the Tannery for four seasons combing bison hides, rugging bears and
handling furs.

She enjoyed camping and hiking in the summer and
making Afghans and crocheting.

Her father Boyd preceded Sheila in death.

She is survived by her husband Rod of St.
Ignatius; children
Nicole, Cory and Patrick Hadley; eight grandchildren; mother Delores
Hayes; siblings Katherine Marie Dawson, Nelda J. Hayes and Debra Ann
Woodward (Mark Geis); as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Services will be held on Friday, May 28 at 3 p.m.
in the Foster Funeral Chapel in St. Ignatius.

Lawrence
“Lyle” Decker
ST. IGNATIUS — Lawrence “Lyle” Decker, 74, of Polson passed away on
Thursday, May 13, 2010. Lyle was born September 8, 1935, in St.
Ignatius, the son of Lawrence and Edith Decker.

After graduating from St. Ignatius High School in
1953, Lyle
served in both the Army and Air Force receiving honorable discharges in
1956 and 1960. Lyle then worked at the White Pine sawmill in Missoula
for several years and retired from there to care for his mother in St.
Ignatius. After her death, Lyle worked in the woods cutting posts,
farmed in the Jocko Canyon, and worked at Kicking Horse Job Corp. After
retiring again, he lived at Flathead Lake and attended Salish Kootenai
College and received an Associate of Arts Degree in Human Services,
General Studies, and Psychology.

Lyle loved the outdoors, enjoying snow skiing,
fishing,
hunting, water skiing and boating. His cabin at Flathead Lake is where
family and friends all gathered. Lyle was a character when he told his
stories. Lyle loved his family and especially his nieces and nephews
who were all so important to him.

Lyle was a Past Master of Masonic Harmony Lodge
No. 49 in
Missoula, a life member of the York Rite, a life member of the Cryptic
Masons, and a member of Mission Valley Lodge No. 78 in Polson.

Lyle is survived by his siblings Betty (Hal)
Samsel of Polson,
Dale (Laurie) Decker of Tacoma, WA, Donna (David) Marks of Arlee and
Ranae Decker of Denver, CO; an adopted son Vincent “Buck” Swan; his
nephews Steve (Shelly) Samsel and Jeff Decker; his nieces Sheryl
(Randy) Symon, Shenda Burnett, Debbie (John) O’Neill, Deanne (Casey)
Smith; and his beloved great nieces and nephews, who called him
“Uncle”; and his cat JJ. Lyle was preceded in death by his parents and
nephew, Dwayne Marks.

Services were held on Monday, May 17, in the Chuck
Dixon Park in Polson, where Military and Masonic Honors were held.

Memorials may be sent to charities of the donor’s
choice.

Jim
Hilton
ST. IGNATIUS — Jim was born and raised in the St. Ignatius/Ronan area.

He graduated from St. Ignatius High School in
1974. From 1974 to
1990 Jim worked for Cenex in Ronan. He and his wife Shirley moved to
Kalispell to start a new job with North West Propane for a couple years
from there Jim was hired to work for Montana Power/Northwester Energy.

Jim was “the gas man”. Any family or friends
needing advise about propane or natural gas, Jim was the one we called.

Jim was an avid blood donor and was adopted by
Eastgate
Volunteer Fire Department as the official cook of steaks twice a year
at the Montana Mutual Aid Meetings.

Jim was always there for his friends and family.
He loved his
family especially his children and grandchildren and would do anything
for them.

He loved fishing, bass fishing was just the thing.
He found
that he also loved hunting, especially opening day with family. Jim
also enjoyed farming, boating and bowling.

He is survived by
his wife Shirley; daughter Korrie; son Ezeaquil Bautisa; grandchildren
Shanae, Jathaniel, Isabell and Carlos; Tim and Delores McAllister;
sister Evelyn Jennotte of St. Ignatius; brothers Dave Hilton of
Billings, Larry Hilton of Great Falls; and Ken Hilton of Darby; along
with several nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Jim is preceded in death by his father Everett
Hilton, mother Margery Hilton, and step son Timothy (TJ).

Dickson was born September 21, 1966. He was the
second child of Frazer White Elk and Alvina C. White Elk.

Dickson attended school in Yakima and in Salem,
Oregon. He
graduated from Chemawa Indian School in 1985. He went on to attend
college at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. After
college, Dickson went to work in Alaska on fishing boats, sawmills, and
was a seasonal wildfire firefighter.

Dickson married Vanessa in 1993, they made their
life in Yakima
for the past 17 years. During his marriage he became a dedicated stay
at home dad. Dickson enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.
He enjoyed being outdoors with his family at parks, lakes, rivers, and
sporting events.

Dickson is preceded in death by his father, Frazer
White Elk, and his mother Alvina C. White Elk.

He is survived by his devoted wife, Vanessa, and
their children
Ashley Roberts, Zachery Roberts, Joshua White Elk, Jacob White Elk and
David Huitt; brothers, Frazer (Andulia, Eudee, Daveencah, Suviette,
Pitaki) White Elk of Portland, Oregon and Archie (Merida and Dion)
White Elk of Toppenish, Washington; sisters April White Elk (Ty, Jason,
David, Richard) of Portland, Oregon and Josette McMaster of Lethbridge,
Alberta Canada; aunties Veronica Smith of Pincher Creek, Alberta Canada
and Harriet McDougall of Camas Prairie; uncle Dan McDougall of Hot
Springs; and his many beloved nephews, nieces, and cousins throughout
the provinces of Alberta, Canada and the state of Montana, Washington
and Oregon.

Dickson and Vanessa hearts and home were always
open to anyone
that needed a place stay and considered many of them as their own, such
as, Arturo, Eddie.

Dickson was a wonderful husband, father, brother,
and friend. He will be deeply missed.

She was born on May 3, 1917, at Valley Creek to
Eli and Nancy
Morigeau. She attended schools in Arlee, Chemawa, Oregon, South Dakota
and Lawrence, Kansas. Stella was a proud member of the Confederated
Salish Kootenai Tribe.

In September of 1937, she married Archie Keirnan
Jamison in
Thompson Falls. They lived in Polson, until they moved in 1942 to
Portland, OR where Stella worked as a welder in the shipyards and also
for Bess Kaiser Hospital as a scheduler. They had many happy years
together raising their children, Barbara, Archie Jr., Deanna and
Donald.

Stella loved her family most, next to dancing,
bowling,
decorating her house inside and out, gambling and family get togethers.
Stella and Archie moved back to Polson in 1978 where they spent many
happy years. She loved playing racehorse rummy with her cousin Laura
Matt and they could play for days, stopping only to eat. She enjoyed
her senior citizens activities in Montana, Mesa, Ariz., Vancouver, WA.
and Portland, OR.

She is preceded in death by her husband Archie
Jamison; son
Donald Jamison; daughter Deanna Olney; and numerous brothers and
sisters. Stella was the last one to go of the Eli and Nancy Morigeau
children.

She is survived by daughter Barbara Thompson and
her husband
Pat of Polson; son Archie Jamison and wife Diane of Portland, OR; and
her grandchildren Pam Thompson and Deanna bates of Polson, Mike Jamison
(Trish) and Susan Funke of Portland, Laurie Veitenhimer (Gary) of
Vancouver, WA, Byron Olney, David Jamison, Steven Jamison and Tina
Jamison of Portland; and numerous great grandchildren and many nephews
and nieces and their families.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, May 20 from 3
p.m. to 8
p.m. at the Grogan Funeral Home. A vigil will be held at 7 p.m. at the
funeral home. Funeral mass will be held on Friday, May 21 at 10 a.m. at
the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Polson with Rev. Jim
Connor officiating. Cremation will follow the services with interment
to be held at Lakeview Cemetery at a later date.

Michael
Pierce
RONAN — Michael Troy Pierce was granted his angel wings and
went home to God on Saturday May 8, 2010. He was 22. He was born in
Missoula to Donald and Kelly Pierce.

Mikey graduated from Billings West High in 2006.
He moved back to the Mission Valley to work with his father at
D&M Repair.

He enjoyed hiking in the Mission Mountains and
riding his
mountain bike as often as he could. You could not keep him from being
outdoors. He also enjoyed camping, boating, and spending time with his
family and friends.

Mikey had a contagious personality and smile and
could make
anyone laugh, especially his mommy. He was an amazing son, father, and
brother. The day his son was born was the proudest day of his life.

Michael is survived by his parents Kelly Pierce
Helm (William)
and Donald Pierce (Sue); his son Troy; sisters Alicia (Leach) Pierce
and Annesha Taylor; brothers DJ, Leonard, and Brandon Pierce; the love
of his life and mother of his child, Cassie Normandeau; and her two
awesome boys Daniel and Brent. He is also survived by numerous nieces,
nephews, aunties, uncles, cousins, and a very large extended family.

He is preceded in death by, his Grandfather
Phillip O. Voight, Aunt Janet Pierce, and his namesake Michael D.
Plouffe.

Cremation has taken place. In lieu of flowers, a
trust fund for
Mikey’s son, Troy, has been set up at the Community Banks of the Ronan
area.

Maria was born to Mike and Pepretua (Waliser)
Gress on June 18,
1925 in Hysham. The youngest child in a large family, she was raised by
her older sister after her mother passed; she graduated from St.
Ignatius.

She and Al Sloan married in March of 1945 and to
this union
they were blessed with ten children. However, as with many things in
life things do not always work out and they later divorced.

A dedicated mother, Maria was very proud of her
children. They
were her life. She loved the home she raised them in and loved living
in it.

She was preceded in death by her siblings and
parents as well as her oldest daughter, Patricia Sloan.

She leaves behind her children and their families
including Ly
Traversie of Ronan, Clay (Ann) Sloan of Pablo, Sandy K. Castor of St.
Ignatius, Lorma Sloan of Ronan, Liberty (Vern) Plouffe of Pablo, John
Roy Sloan of Spokane, Victoria (Dale) DeLack of Helena, Caroline
DeRosia of Kalispell and Crystal (Terry) McLure of Spokane and numerous
grandchildren, nieces, nephews and extended family.

A service was held in the St. Ignatius Catholic
Cemetery in St. Ignatius; Fr. Andrew Maddock, S.J. officiated.

Michael
McCrea, Sr.
BIG ARM — Michael McCrea, Sr., 57, joined his creator May 1, 2010 at
his home surrounded by family and friends.

A member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribe, Mike had
an AA in Environmental Science. He was an avid woodsman whether he was
thinning, planting or firefighting. In his spare time, he enjoyed
hunting, fishing, camping and spending time with his grandchildren.

Mike was a well known by many and he has left many
stories and memories with us.

He was preceded in death by his mother Dorthy
Couture McCrea;
his father Robert A. McCrea; sisters Linda, Laura, Monica and Veda;
brothers Kean, Bradly and Kim (Humphrey), and a grandchild Jade.